CRO Testing: Fewer Form Fields Reduces User Friction

Case Study

A leading B2B software company was looking to improve lead generation efforts with higher online conversion rates. Despite offering a free high-quality industry report upon completion of an online form, they were generating fewer leads than they believed they could.

Challenge

During Elite SEM’s initial audit of the client’s web form, the CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization) team identified a glaring issue. Standard best practice across all industries dictates that the fewer fields present in a form, the higher the conversion rate you can expect. This client’s form had six fields, which could arguably yield a more qualified lead. But, the client wanted to grow the quantity of their conversions.

Solution

Using accrued user data after employing heat maps that identified how users were engaging with the form, Elite SEM immediately identified two form fields that were generating resistance from users: the required “phone” and “title” fields. The client agreed to an experiment removing the two fields for a side-by-side comparison between a form with all the original six fields, and one with the “phone” and “title” fields removed.

The CRO team utilized Optimizely’s testing platform to create two pages that were identical except for the number of fields, and to split traffic evenly, 50/50, between the two pages. Testing only Paid Search traffic, the team recorded user engagement with the original page with all form fields, and the variation with the “title” and “phone number” fields removed.

The client agreed to an experiment removing two fields for a side-by-side comparison between a form with all of the original fields, and one with the “phone” and “title” fields removed.

Results

During the three-week course of the experiment, Elite’s CRO team recorded a 759% lift in conversions from the form without the “phone” and “title” fields, compared to the original form. Heat mapping also revealed that users were engaging with the form that included fewer fields, and had stopped avoiding or skipping over fields entirely.

Key Takeaways

It’s important to not only understand exactly what your users need to convert, but what is causing them to resist in the first place.

To fully maximize form results, you have to identify exactly why the fields you are requesting users complete are required, and if they are in fact necessary.

Most importantly, it’s important to listen to your users. If the data identifies a specific speed bump, understanding how to remedy the issue is key to increased performance.

This is a classic case of how a small change can make a big impact and how constant, iterative testing can greatly improve conversion rates.